Quick catch up…

Well hi there, long time no see! You’ll looking amazing! You’ve had your hair cut? No? Okay… new glasses? I give up, you look great! What’s your secret? How’ve you been? Me? Oh you know, a busy little bee and all that.

Walking around Manuka, 25 April, 2009.

It has been really busy. I had a marathon three days of workshops in Brisbane last week (during bearable weather – it felt like Sydney), two were firsts, and yeah, well, 50/50 on them. But it really took quite a bit out of me. Well, that and the fabulous weather we’ve been having here. Winter decided to arrive on ANZAC day, and well, having spent 4 days at 22 degrees and arriving back into 6 – I managed to pick up a sniffle. Very irritating, but more irritatingly draining than anything else. Off to Melbourne tomorrow to give one of the workshops again. Will go visit my usual haunts: Little Cupcakes in DeGraves Street, Brother Baba Budan on Little Bourke Street, and Minotaur on Elizabeth Street (just up from Cleg’s). I’m also going to have a peek and see where the new Morris and Sons store on Collins is going to be. All very exciting.

View from my breakfast spot on the river, Brisbane.

Next week is even more of a marathon – Adelaide and Perth – for the first time on each occasion! Again, workshops. The week after that is my Literature seminar on Tolkien and Mythology (or, Tolkien’s approach to creating a mythology and selecting sources). The week after that, Melbourne for more workshops. So whew, lots going on there.

The Pensky File is back in the reading stages after revisiting one of Tolkien’s lectures (the 1939 On Fairy-Stories), which was both helpful and turned the main theme of my thesis on its head. So I’m not panicking. (I lie, I’m stressing out completely here. I have no energy and the supervisors are wondering why I’ve been so quiet). But, we need the money, we’re going to be one income down in August, so I need to work and save like mad, for now. Yes, I have 6 months to bridging money, but I want to finish promptly, on schedule and in style. Something tells me that is not going to happen.

So there has been virtually nothing else doing on the knitting front. I finished another knitted hug, and have just decided to knit and edging onto it instead of the fringe (very irritating), so have to sew in many ends and edge it before next week. Just a warning: when you see the photos, you will notice novelty yarn. Yes, I used novelty yarn (the pattern called for it), no, I don’t want to talk about it. It was a horrible experience and one I do not want to have to relive again. The RTA has had one single row added to it since I last touched it, and the rest, well, they all lie neglected. I will use them as a reward. Pity I can’t knit on a plane yet. *grumble grumble* I’d get so much done.

ANZAC Square, brisbane. That sandstone building on the right is my hotel.

And I had a call the other day reminding me to book my appointment to get my wisdom teeth removed. Argh! Something I’ve been trying not to think about. Which usually results in my teeth reminding me irregardless of the memo I sent to them saying “do not disturb”. And there’s so much yummy wool I want to buy, and addi turbo’s and knit picks I want to order.

Which I really shouldn’t. I’ve started ziplocking my stash in anticipation of having to cram it into a couple of cardboard boxes and then agonizing over what to put in storage, what to take to Melbourne, and what to send back home in anticipation of knitting-while-waiting-for-supervisory-comments-on-the-thesis-draft. I’ve done well, in 2 and a bit years, I’ve done very well. I’ll probably destash some of my stuff in order to make way for more quality yarns, but it remains to be seen whether I can actually willingly part with untouched balls of yarn… I’m not sure if I can.

Well, I’ll see you on the weekend, if I haven’t decided to lose myself on the streets of Melbourne…

Gosh you really are busy! I hope you get some time to relax while you are in Melbourne and do a little bit of therapeutic knitting (sans novelty yarn…)I adore Melbourne especially DeGraves street and Clegs (and the wintry weather…) In my mind you are guaranteed to have some fun in those shops. Thanks so much for visiting on my blog….I really wasn’t expecting anyone to comment being new and all 🙂